US State Department approves $4.7bn surface-to-air missile package to Egypt

NASAMS anti-aircraft missile systems during preparations in advance of the Nuclear Security Summit, in Noordwijk in the Netherlands, in 2014 [File: Robin Van Lonkhuijsen/EPA]

The US State Department has approved the potential sale of a surface-to-air missile package worth $4.67bn to the government of Egypt, the Pentagon has announced.

In a statement on Thursday, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said it had agreed to a “possible Foreign Military Sale” of a National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) package, including four AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radar systems, hundreds of missiles, and dozens of guidance units.